A38 cycle route

I cycled from Belgrave Middleway to Selly Oak yesterday on the pavement..I know they are laying a cycle track down this road which is takes ages..but I wonder if the council might just as well have improved the pavements for cyclists cos they seem wide enough for cyclists and pedestrians..!!!!

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I would not of minded either way. If they did keep it as a shared cycle path, the pedestrian crossings needed some MAJOR improving to make it fit for both cyclists, and pedestrians. What I found frustrating was that the council/police seemed to be ok with cyclist on the pavements on that road anyway. What frustrated me however is that they don't seem to abide by the national law of the highway code (AKA: no cycle on pavements unless stated by appropriate markings and road signs.)

If you cycled on the pavement with no markings for shared use how do pedestrians know bicycles are allowed to use it. For all pedestrians know cycles are not permitted, and if you did hit someone they have a right to report and take court action.

But the crossings at Belgrave Middleway, some of the smaller side roads, and Priory crossing are probably a few of the most dangerous crossings. The council would of needed to of spent a load of money to make them safer. So I would say they are spending a lot more on the cycle lane as well, but hopefully it will mean cyclist will have an easier safer option of travel among the A38.

To conclude I think the new cycle highway will be more beneficial than a shared cycle path. There are also plans to extend the cycle highway to the Selly Oak Triangle (when this will happen not sure. Birmingham being Birmingham most likely another 20 years LOL)

This is a problem with shared paths generally. The signs and markings are generally sufficient to inform cyclists that they're allowed to use them, but to a pedestrian (who only sees it as a pavement, so isn't paying attention to such things) they can be out of sight of any signage by the time they encounter a cyclist. There might be a white line, but they don't know which side they're supposed to be on.

Obviously the best solution is build proper infrastructure rather than making pavements shared-use, but if they have to use the magic paint, they need to be a lot more liberal with it.

ARKrider said:

If you cycled on the pavement with no markings for shared use how do pedestrians know bicycles are allowed to use it. For all pedestrians know cycles are not permitted, and if you did hit someone they have a right to report and take court action.